Wonderful Surprise
by forevermissingclaudiaZ
Summary: What if Britt had been the one to have problems after the birth of her baby? How would it all change? Brik and Patrina
1. Chapter 1

When he walks into his living room and sees Britt on the floor his first feeling is concern. She's breathing heavily and a grimace is spread on her face and he knows she's in labor, but he asks anyways. When Sabrina returns with a snarky comment about baking a cake, he can understand why Britt gets frustrated with the nurse's existence. He makes up something about thinking her due date was later and how he thought they had time, but Britt is groaning and talking about how her son is tired of people yelling at her. He assumes that Sabrina came here specifically to yell at Britt, which annoys him to no end, but he wasn't going to say anything now- Sabrina may be the only one capable of taking care of Britt. He rubs his face in frustration when he realizes the launch won't be able to come back to the island. He regrets living on the damn island when one of his best friends was in labor. He calls for another boat, but it will take an hour, which according to Saint Sabrina is too long.

Britt tries to get up so that she can somehow get herself to the hospital. He walks close to her, just in case she was to fall. He backs off once she leans on a chair to start ranting about how Sabrina will take out her anger and frustration on the baby, but even he knows she's grasping at straws- she's scared. They get her to lie back down and then he's there, holding her hand while she breaths through the pain. Sabrina runs upstairs to get supplies and finally it's just the two of them. She's mumbling about wanting drugs and he feels bad, because of him she won't have drugs to have her baby, but then again she wouldn't have a home without him.

"Nikolas, I'm scared."

"You're going to be just fine and so is your baby. Women do this every single day, Britt, and they're okay."

"Something doesn't feel right, though-"

She pauses as the pain of another contraction rips its way through her body. She planned on drugs and not feeling any of this, but now it's different. She's exposed, on the floor of Nikolas' living room, with no drugs, or other doctors and nothing about her labor feels right to her.

"I know I've never done this before, but I don't think something's right."

"Britt, don't you worry. Everything is going to fine, you're going to have this baby and then we're going to get you both to the hospital. I promise you, I promise, and princes don't break promises."

He tries to make his expression regal looking in order to make her laugh, but it only manages to make her crack a smile in between contractions. He lets her squeeze his hand as hard as she can and he even makes the annoying breathing noises that Epiphany taught them in the one labor class he went to. He was trying with all his might to make her feel slightly better, but he sees the tears welling in her eyes and he knows that it's because this wasn't her plan.

"Patrick was supposed to be here, Nikolas, I mean it's his son. And he probably wouldn't wanna be here anyways, cause it's me and he threatened to take the baby away from me. What if he really does? What if he just rips my little boy out of my arms? No, I have to run, I have to keep my baby. I can't lose him."

She tries to get up, to run from his living room to anywhere else, anywhere that Patrick couldn't take her son from her, but what she didn't realize is that he would not let Patrick take her son from her. He gently pushes her back on the pillows and she groans again as she's hit by another contraction.

"I'm not gonna let that happen, Britt."

His voice is a whisper and he's not even sure she hears him because her eyes are going back and forth around the room. For a change, he squeezes her hand in order to hopefully get her attention. It doesn't work.

"Sabrina needs to get back down here, I need to push, I think, and she needs to be here. Where is she? Where the hell is she, Nikolas?!"

"I'm right here, this place is huge, I got a little lost, I'm back now. Okay let's see what's going on here."

Sabrina puts a blanket over her legs and towels under Britt where she knew she would need to catch the baby. She had only ever watched babies being delivered and this baby was special, he was Patrick's son. If anything happened to this baby she was positive that Britt, Nikolas, and Patrick would all hate her.

"Okay, Britt, on your next contraction you can push."

She looked up Nikolas, who saw the fear in her eyes, but kissed her forehead to hopefully wish away the fear. With his free hand he pressed play on the radio that was going to play the "labor playlist" she had on her phone. Her eyes held surprise and joy as "Wonderful Surprise" came over the airway. She absolutely adored this song.

"Let's meet this little boy, mama."

When her next contraction comes, she's overcome by the urge to push so she does. She squeezes Nikolas' hand as hard as possible and pushes. She pushes because she wants to meet this little boy that her and Patrick made the one time they were together. She pushes because every time he kicked her in the past few months she fell more in love with him. She's in love with her son, even though she never knew what love was before him.

"Good job, Britt! There's one shoulder and the other shoulder. Okay, you can stop, he's here. He's so beautiful."

Britt watched as Sabrina cut her son's cord and cleaned him off with a blue puffy blanket. He let out several loud cries, letting all the adults in the room know that he was perfectly healthy. Britt couldn't help contain the tears that fell when Sabrina put her little boy in her arms. She was mostly unaware of the two others in the room, but she was subtly leaning on Nikolas for support. She smiled down at her son's rounded face, he had the chubbiest cheeks she had ever seen, but he was so small. She felt like a giant with him in her arms.

"Hi, baby boy, I'm your mommy. I love you so much and I'm gonna love you so much for the rest of your life. Your daddy isn't here right now, but he loves you too. We're not together, but we're gonna give you the best life possible, I promise you, you will want for nothing. I'll give you everything you want, within reason, of course. I'll move mountains for you, baby boy."

Nikolas and Sabrina watched, smiling down at the new mother as she bonded with her child, but just as quickly as the moment had begun, it ended. The color in Britt's face disappeared; it was like all the blood in her body was draining. Nikolas felt her slouch against him and immediately grabbed her arm in hopes to rouse her.

"Britt…?"

"Nikolas, take the baby, take him from me."

He does as he's told and watches as Sabrina starts to massage her stomach. He looks questionably at both the women, not taking even a second to look at the newborn, he can't even be concerned with the baby at this point. Sabrina looks frightened and Britt looks like at any second she'll pass out. Then he realizes it when he looks down at the floor, a pool of blood is surrounding Britt. She's hemorrhaging.

"Britt these uterine massages aren't working, I don't know what else to do. Tell me what else to do!"

Britt is passing in and out of consciousness at this point and she can't tell the young nurse what to do. He knows they have to get her to the hospital before she loses any more blood. He makes Sabrina stop and hands her the baby. He stands and picks Britt off the floor, she feels weightless even though she had been housing a human being for nine months. His lips brush against her cheekbone.

"You're going to be okay, Britt, I promised. Come on, Sabrina, we have to go now!"

"Nikolas, you have to take care of him….if I die, I want…..you to take care of him. Stay with him…please."

"We're going to the hospital, you're not going to die."

They rush quickly out of the house and luckily there is a boat waiting for them. Nikolas keeps Britt in his arms, her blood getting all over his dress shirt and pants. Sabrina holds on tightly to the baby with one arm while keeping her fingers on Britt's slowly fading pulse. He tries to gauge her facial expressions so that he can know the fate of the woman he holds in his arms, the one he doesn't ever want to let go of. They're still a good ten minutes away from Port Charles and then maybe two minutes from the hospital and he knows Britt doesn't have that kind of time. He can feel her blood sinking into his skin.

"Sabrina, I need you to be real with me. What's going on?"

"It's called uterine atony, it means that when Britt's uterus was supposed to contract to release the placenta, but it didn't. Britt's uterus didn't contract and her blood isn't even clotting, if we don't get to the hospital soon, she won't make it. It doesn't make any sense, unless she developed pre-eclampsia recently, but it doesn't matter. She needed to be at a hospital thirty minutes ago."

He's not sure why she's giving him such a pointed look. Isn't this what she wanted? Didn't she want a healthy baby boy from Britt that she could raise with Patrick without Britt's interference? He didn't know that Britt was going to start bleeding like this. If he had known, she would've been stuck in the hospital for the last week if it were up to him. Finally the boat reached the harbor and they loaded themselves into the car he had waiting for them.

"Drew, step on it."

His driver slammed on the gas pedal and they started to fly, he didn't care if the cops had an issue with it, he was going to save Britt Westbourne if it was the last thing he did.

"Sabrina, what's her pulse like?"

"It's there, barely."

"Hold on, Britt, we're almost there."

The car came to a screeching halt at the ER entrance. Nikolas didn't even wait for Sabrina and the baby; instead he rushed out of the car and ran into the hospital. Of course, Patrick was the first doctor he saw. At this moment, however, he was thankful for small favors- Patrick would do anything for the mother of his child, Nikolas was sure of that.

"Patrick, we need help here now!"

Patrick freezes in the moment. Seeing Nikolas holding Britt, the woman who was carrying his son, in his arms while covered in blood paralyzed him. Where was his son? What happened? What the hell happened? Why is there so much blood? He finally grabs a gurney and brings it to Nikolas who reluctantly lays her down on it, putting his faith in the doctors. Only a select few had his trust these days and he could say for sure Patrick was not one of them.

"Page Dr. Lee 911, now! We have severe uterine bleeding, most likely caused by uterine atony and maybe an over distension of the uterus."

Nikolas watches at the door as Patrick puts an IV in her arm. He administers a drug into the IV just as Dr. Lee and Sabrina, with the baby, arrive. Blood is hung and administered directly into Britt's veins, but Nikolas can feel her slipping away as the baby starts to cry.

"How much blood do we suspect she lost?"

Dr. Lee's voice is calm as she applies the same uterine massages that Sabrina had done earlier.

"Far too much, we already have two units of packed red blood cells hung. A team is assembling. I just didn't know if you wanted me to administer methergine or not?"

"Yes, we need to staunch this bleeding now or else we'll have to operate."

To Patrick's credit, he has not even laid eyes on his new son, but instead helped Dr. Lee assess the situation. Time seemed to stand still to Nikolas, every thing just moved in slow motion. He turned when he felt Sabrina tap his shoulder and when he did she held the baby out for him to hold.

"I'm going to help with Britt. Why don't you take him up to pediatrics and get him checked out so he's ready for his mama when she's okay again."

"I can't leave her."

His voice is a whisper and he's not sure why he can't leave. Sure Britt was his friend and she had lived with him, but they were completely platonic. It's not like it was Emily lying there on the gurney with a team of doctors working around her.

Finally, when the small baby is in his arms, he takes a chance to truly look at him. He has this super light, blond hair and he wonders where that came from, but the rest of the baby is all Britt. He can see her chin, the shape of her eyes, and her lips all in him. Usually when he looked at babies all he saw was a baby Yoda, but not with this child, not with this little boy. He looked back to Britt, her face was so white, bags of blood and fluid hung on multiple poles that ran straight back to her veins. He can't move, he's barely breathing. If she dies…he doesn't even want to think about it, she brings life back into his house, he wants her and this little boy to stay forever. He's transfixed on her until a monitor sings, scaring the baby and him, but the doctors and nurses move quickly.

"She's tachycardic, we have to get her to surgery now! She's lost too much blood. Patrick, we don't need you in there, conflict of interest anyways."

Nikolas steps out of the way just in time to watch them run Britt to the operating room. Patrick and Nikolas just stand in the room, taking in the blood that is on the floor and the exhaustion smeared over their faces. After what seems like forever, the baby lets out a squeal and Patrick is taken out of his trance. His eyes fix solely on the small bundle swaddled in Nikolas' arms.

"God, I don't know why I'm asking you, but can I hold my son?"

Nikolas nods and hands him over to Patrick. He watches as this new father takes in all of his son's features. The surgeon's fingers caress the baby's cheek and he naturally sways back and forth to sooth the infant when he cries.

"She told me to take him if she died, to raise him, I don't even know why. She didn't even give him a name, and you're his father, but she knew Patrick- she knew something was wrong when she was in labor. This is my fault…"

Patrick looks up at him and Nikolas can see the fear that is behind his eyes. Maybe Patrick was afraid that both of his children would be motherless. It was a terrible punishment to a child; to be motherless at any point in life, but since birth was even harder to swallow.

"Postpartum hemorrhaging happens in only ten percent of women, we couldn't have known Britt would've been one of those women. It's a freak thing and the fact that Kelly couldn't stop the bleeding wouldn't have changed whether she was here or not. Look, I'm going to take this guy to get checked out, you look rough man, why don't you come along?"

Nikolas doesn't say anything, but he follows Patrick out of the ER room and onto an elevator. He doesn't know much, but he knows for sure that Britt would want him to stay with her little boy even though he's with his father. Patrick had wounded Britt, over and over again and the night they had met she was so damaged by him. He didn't blame Britt for not trusting Patrick, even though he was the father of her child.

The pediatrics floor is calm and slow, the total opposite of what was happening downstairs in the ER not five minutes ago. He looks around and the nurses are smiling, wearing some princess scrub sets. He wonders how this floor can be so happy when two floors below Britt is undergoing an operation to hopefully save her life. He tries to focus on following Patrick and her son, the little boy's gurgling fills the hallway.

"Dr. Drake, is this your little boy?"

They somehow manage to find a doctor Nikolas is familiar with, Dr. Silas Clay, the one who is treating his cousin's son, Danny. He actually does trust this doctor and is thrilled that he'll be the one taking care of Britt's little boy.

"Yeah, man, could you maybe do me a favor and check him out? Britt gave birth on Nikolas' island, so he needs his newborn check."

"Yeah, let's go into this exam room right here."

Nikolas watches them start to go toward the room, but he's stuck. He knows that he needs to stay with the baby, Britt practically begged him to stay with the baby before she passed out. But he can't even move, he needs to go wait for Dr. Lee to be done with the surgery.

"Nikolas, are you coming?"

Patrick notices his apprehension and grins sadly at him. He wonders if Nikolas realizes that he's in love with Britt yet, or if he still thinks their relationship is completely platonic. If Patrick was honest with himself, he would realize that he, too, loved Britt in his own special way, because of the swaddled bundle in his arms.

"Why don't you go to the family waiting room down on three and wait for Dr. Lee? I'll be down there as soon as I get this little guy situated in the nursery and we can wait together."

He doesn't say anything, but instead turns on his heel to walk to the elevators. Patrick and Silas make eye contact as they make their way into the exam room. Silas lays the new baby on the scale. Patrick can't keep his eyes off of his new son.

"Six pounds even. All his responses look good, but he's probably hungry, I'll have one of the nurses in the nursery feed him. Obviously, the mom usually feeds him after birth, but my assumption is that Dr. Westbourne didn't get a chance?"

Patrick nods.

"Postpartum hemorrhaging, Dr. Lee took her into surgery, I've never seen so much blood, Silas."

"Do you need to go? I can take care of the little guy; get him all settled in the nursery. I just need a name to put on the bassinet."

"Baby boy Westbourne is what Britt would want. I can't name him or anything yet, we only talked about it once in passing. I was too busy denying him as my child to work with Britt. Thanks for getting him settled for me."

"Well now you have a chance, so don't waste it. I'll bring your hospital bracelet down to the waiting room when it's printed."

Patrick nods and turns to leave the room.

"And Drake?"

"Yeah?"

"Are Dr. Westbourne and Cassadine a thing?"

Patrick laughs a little.

"You would think so, but neither of them think so yet. I'll see you later."

* * *

He finds Nikolas in the waiting room, head in his hands. He ends up just flopping into the seat next to the prince. He feels exhausted too. Britt is, after all, a part of his family now with the addition of their son. He needs to go tell Emma, let her know that her baby brother is here, but he'll do it later when he knows how Britt is. He's about to ask Nikolas if any one has come to tell him what's going on, but before he does Dr. Lee and Sabrina walk in. Both he and Nikolas stand up to receive the news. His girlfriend runs to him and hugs him, tells him that Britt is still alive, but he waits for Dr. Lee to speak.

"How is she, Dr. Lee?"

Nikolas speaks before the doctor can actually apprise him of the situation. She grins at him, but all he can see if the blood covering her scrubs, _Britt's_ blood.

"We were able to stop the bleeding without having to perform a hysterectomy, which is very good, but Dr. Westbourne lost a considerable amount of blood. Her body went into shock and she's in a coma at this moment."

"When will she wake up?"

"Nikolas, we don't know if she'll wake up period."

Patrick breaks the news to him as gently as he knows how. He holds Sabrina a little tighter at the thought that his son may be motherless just like his daughter. He had never wished any of this on his children. He watches as Nikolas realizes the gravity of the situation, his friend may never wake up.

"Can I see her?"

He asks after a minute of staring and processing. Dr. Lee nods, a small smile of sadness playing on her lips. Dr. Westbourne was her friend too, they worked in the same department, deal with the annoying patients day in and day out and when Britt thought she may be pregnant after one night with Patrick, she was the one Britt confided in.

"Of course, I'll take you to her room."

Nikolas looks over at Patrick and Sabrina. They could be getting what they wanted, Britt out of the picture and a brand new baby to raise on their own, but it would be over Nikolas' dead body.

"Take care of the baby, don't…don't name him until Britt wakes up."

He follows Dr. Lee to her room and there she is, lying in a bed, tubes surrounding her, but she's breathing on her own and he takes that as a good sign. He notices how weak and frail she looks and laughs to himself- Britt Westbourne was neither of those things, coma or not. He sits down on the chair beside her bed and grabs her hand. He wonders what has made him feel so bonded to this woman. Maybe it was because of her blatant honesty with him or because she had called him batman like one of his other friends had years before or because she never apologized for who she was; maybe it was a combination of all these things that made him really like her. He just knew that he wanted to keep her around.

"Mr. Cassadine, if you need anything just let the nurses at the desk know. Right now all we can do is wait and see what she chooses to do. Her body may just need to rest and regain its strength before waking up again."

"Thank you Dr. Lee."

She exits the room and he just looks at her. Her breathing seems even and the even sounds of her heartbeat fill the room, it lulls him into a trance, it calms him. His elbow rests on the side of her bed and his chin rests in his hand. He keeps hoping to see her eyelids flutter or movement that can give him hope, but there is nothing but stillness and quiet.

He calls Alfred and tells him he won't be home for a while. He also asks him to send Spencer to his grandmother, Leslie. Their conversation was quick, but useful and now that he knew Spencer was safe he could focus all his energy on Britt.

"Patrick and Sabrina are with your son, I know it's not exactly ideal for them to be with him and I know you told me to stay with him, but I couldn't not be here with you. Dr. Lee said it's up to you and I'm just asking you to wake up so that you meet your little boy for more than a few minutes, please wake up, Britt. Spencer adores you and I think you're pretty amazing too. I'm sorry that I live on that stupid island and that it took so long to get you here, I'm so sorry. Please wake up."

He holds his breath, but nothing happens. He now understands that this really is a waiting game.

* * *

**AN: Hey guys! I've had this story on my mind for a few days and I adore Nikolas/Britt so I had to write this. I'll update soon if there seems to be an interest :)**


	2. Chapter 2

The prince has slept in a stiff hospital chair for the past two nights. They are on day three of the coma watch and he is getting anxious. Patrick and Sabrina have been in and out of the room as physicians and as "family members". He had also been going to see baby boy Westbourne in the middle of the night when no one was allowed. Being on the board had its perks, plus Dr. Quatermaine still had a soft spot for him, even though Emily was long gone. Things had been so complex since her death. There had been the affair with Elizabeth, Aiden's paternity switch, Lulu's breakdown, Jake's death and the list went on. He wished she was here, he needed her here, she would know what to do. Britt's brain was still functioning, according to Patrick, but they still didn't understand why she wasn't waking up.

He rests his head on her bed just like he had last night, morning rounds for the doctors with their interns haven't started yet so the hospital is quiet. He likes it best when it's quiet, because this room is always quiet except for Britt's heartbeat. He didn't understand why she wouldn't just wake up.

"Nikolas."

His head shoots up, but it's not Britt's voice he hears, it's Emily's voice. He sees her standing on the other side of Britt's bed. She's clothed in white, just like she always is when she visits him, and she has a large smile on her face. It was her smile that he first fell in love with and it was her smile that got him through some of the toughest times in his life.

"Emily, you're here. Wh-What are you doing here?"

"You needed me, Nikolas, I needed to check on you. You really care about her, huh?"

For the first time since Emily has appeared, he looks over at Britt. Her face has some color on it and she was still breathing on her own. She looked calm for the first time since they had met. She was worried, constantly, that Patrick would take her son from her and it always showed on her face.

"Emily, she's one of my best friends, we're closer than Elizabeth and I. Once you died, our group fell apart and I didn't know what to do. I didn't have anyone and then Spencer and I find this woman crying on the fourth of July and there's just something about her. Just like there was something about you. It makes me not want to let go of her. There's something about her that's special."

"Then don't Nikolas, don't let her go. You may have lost me, but she's not gone yet, she's in there somewhere- you just have to reach her."

They both look at the woman on the bed, if she woke up right now she would think Nikolas is crazy. He knows that Emily isn't really here, but sometimes it's comforting for her to show up at these times of struggle in his life.

"I miss you, Emily."

"I miss you, too, but she is good for you and she has treated you better than any woman since me and that's including Elizabeth. She may have been my best friend, but you deserve someone who wants to be with you instead of being someone's second choice. Be good to her too."

He nods and goes to respond to her, but just like that she's gone. He was used to her leaving without any notice, but sometimes it still hurt that she just left. He grabs Britt's hand and squeezes it slightly. He smiles at her even though she doesn't know it. She's going to wake up, she has to wake up if for no other reason than he can't sleep in this freaking chair anymore.

"Come on, Britt. Your son is sick of staying at the hospital and Spencer misses us, actually he misses you. He's been texting and calling me, begging to visit. I want you to wake up before he sees you, though, please just wake up."

* * *

Sabrina grabs Emma's hand as they step off the elevator together. The little girl gets to meet her little brother for the first time and Sabrina knows how excited she is. Patrick had leave for work early this morning so Sabrina had volunteered to bring Emma in and they would meet Patrick at the nursery. Emma had barely seen her father these past three days, because he had been working and then staying with his son for as long as possible.

"Sabrina, why doesn't my little brother have a name yet?"

"Well, you see sweetie, Britt is sick and can't talk to your daddy about what to name him, so we're waiting for Britt to wake up to name your little brother. Look, there's daddy!"

Emma lets go of Sabrina's hand and runs into Patrick's open arms. He picks her up and swirls her around while kissing her on the cheek. He, too, knows that Emma has been feeling slightly neglected the past few days, but he hopes to right that by allowing her to spend some time with her little brother.

"Are you ready to meet your little brother?"

"Yes!"

She wraps her arms around his neck as he pulls Sabrina into a close hug and kisses her. He opens the nursery door and a nurse pulls the baby into a family room where there is a clean couch and a few hospital chairs. He puts Emma down and picks up his son. He's lost some weight, but the nurses assure him that it's perfectly normal. When Emma was born everyone was so concerned about the cut on her ear and about the fact that she could contract HIV that Patrick hadn't learned what it was like to have a normal newborn baby. He kisses his son's cheek before kneeling down to Emma's eye level. He looks quickly up to his girlfriend and meets her smile. He knows that if, God forbid, Britt didn't wake up, Sabrina could be a wonderful pseudo-mother to him, but like she had been for Emma.

"He's so little, daddy."

"He is, Ems, but he's really healthy and he really loves his big sister."

She leans down and kisses her baby brother's head. His hair is so blond and she thinks it's funny, because her daddy and Britt don't have blond hair, but she thinks it's also really cute. She smiles as he makes these happy, gurgling noises, but she still can't get over how tiny he is.

"Do you wanna hold him, Emma?"

Sabrina is the one who asks, because Patrick is just so enthralled by his two children who get to be in the same room together. The adults watch as Emma nods slowly and they know she might be afraid of breaking him, but she's so gentle- she wouldn't hurt a fly.

"Alright, go sit in that chair for me."

She does as she's told and sits up straight.

"Okay, here you go. Keep his head steady, his neck isn't very strong yet, so you have to help him."

They get the small child situated in Emma's arms and the adults just stand back to take in the scene.

"Hi, baby. You don't have a name yet cause your mommy is sick, but you will soon. But my name's Emma and I'm your big sister. I love you, like a lot. We have your room all ready at my house. Daddy said you won't be staying there for a little bit, but it's ready for when you do."

Sabrina pulls her phone out of her jean pocket and snaps a picture. Emma looks up at Sabrina and smiles so she can take another picture. Patrick and Sabrina both laugh, because Emma is always camera ready.

"Patrick why don't you do over there and I'll take a picture of the three of you."

Patrick walks over and squats so that he is not hovering over his children. Not long after Sabrina snaps the picture does the baby start wailing. Emma looks upset so Patrick expertly grabs his son from his daughter. He walks around, rocking the small child in his arms.

"Daddy, did I do something wrong?"

"No, sweetheart, not at all. Sometimes babies like to move around and that's what he wanted. I'm sure he loved that you were holding him."

Emma looks down at her hands and then up at her father sadly.

"Maybe he misses Britt."

Patrick and Sabrina take a seat in chairs on either side of the young girl. Sabrina is concerned, confused as to why Emma would think such a thing, unless the little girl is missing her mother right now which was possible.

"Why do you say that, princess?"

"Cause he got to hear her voice every day when he was in her tummy and now she hasn't been around, because she's sick. He misses his mommy, daddy."

"Is that how you feel sometimes, sweetheart?"

Sabrina places a hand lightly on the little girl's back, making small circles with her thumb.

"Sometimes, yeah, I miss everything about mommy, not just her voice, but the baby only knows Britt's voice. He doesn't know if she cuddles good or if he likes the way she smiles, yet, so he can only miss her voice. I hope she gets better soon so that he can know all that stuff like I know about my mommy. Can I make her a get well soon card when we get home, Sabrina?"

Patrick kisses the top of his daughter's head. He really wanted Britt to wake up soon too. He didn't want to take his son to his house, which wasn't true, but he didn't want to take him home to his house because that mean Britt wasn't getting any better.

"Of course, sweetie. Do you wanna go home now? Your little brother needs more sleep and daddy should get back to work."

The little girl nods so Patrick kisses her on the forehead and hugs her good. She says bye to her baby brother, too. Patrick and Sabrina stand and kiss goodbye. Just as the women are about to leave, Nikolas opens the door and walks toward Patrick.

"Nikolas, is Britt okay?"

Patrick is concerned by the man's behavior. It isn't very princely of him to just barge into a room like that. Sabrina stands at the door, hand-in-hand with Emma, unsure what to do. Patrick nods her on and the two of them leave together.

"She's still asleep, but I want take the baby to her."

"Man, she's not going to know he's there."

"I don't care, Patrick, just give me Britt's son."

"He's my son too, Nikolas."

"No, you may be acting like the father right now, bringing your daughter to see her brother and coming in here with Sabrina while beaming with fatherly pride. But where were you when Britt was pregnant and struggling? Questioning her about everything and anything having to do with that little boy in your arms. Just let me take him to see her. He needs his mom and she needs her son."

Patrick sighs and then passes his son into Nikolas' arms. The men exchange sad smiles, knowing that most likely the baby going to see Britt won't make a difference. Patrick understands that the man is grasping at straws, he even flew in a specialist yesterday to see if she could be forcedly woken up. The specialist said there was nothing he could do.

* * *

"Look who I brought to see you, Britt. It's your little boy, he's still nameless, we're waiting for you, but the doctor said he really should go home. I keep stalling them, because I don't want Patrick to take him. I have no rights to him Britt, we're only friends, I can't not allow Patrick to take his own son home."

The baby gurgles and Nikolas keeps his eyes intently on Britt, hoping that just hearing him will be enough to wake her, but maybe it's not enough. He looks down at the little boy in his arms and smiles.

"He looks like you, I mean Sabrina keeps telling Patrick that she sees him when she looks at the baby, but she's wrong. He looks so much like you. Did you notice that before the bleeding got too bad? Did you see the little boy you carried? A minute wasn't enough Britt, he needs you for the rest of his life."

He gently grabs Britt's arm and bends it slightly, creating a nook between her arm and her body. He puts the baby in the nook, making sure his head is supported and he looks secure. He sits down in the chair, the one he's been residing in for the past three days, and smiles. The baby looks content, he's not squirming or squealing in discomfort, he's actually falling asleep.

"There, that's how it's supposed to be, right? He needs to be with his mom, Britt. I know you told me that your mom wasn't the greatest, but you will be a good mom. You are already a good mom and you are a good person. You've made mistakes, but so has everyone else and you own those mistakes better than anyone else I have ever met. Kids need their parents to be real and genuine and you are those things. You will be a great mom if you just wake up."

He's holding on to her arm, just to make sure the baby is fully supported and he just waits. He's been waiting for three days and he will continue to wait until she wakes up. Minutes pass and he wonders if she can even hear him begging her to wake up. He looks down at the too-bleached sheets on her bed. Maybe it's completely useless to keep trying, maybe he needs to give up and stop trying.

But just as the thought passes his mind, he hears a groan. Immediately his head shoots up and he sees Britt opening her eyes.

"Britt, you're awake!"

He gently grabs the baby from her arms, only because he's unsure of how Britt will react to waking up. He puts the baby in his hospital bassinet and quickly returns to her. One of her hands goes directly to her incision on her abdomen while the other goes to her forehead. But he watches as her eyes grow big.

"Where's my son, Nikolas?"

"He's right over there, he's healthy, you're son is okay. I'm going to call a nurse with your call button here, Patrick needs to come check you out."

He presses the button and when he looks back at Britt he realizes how confused she looks.

"Wha-why does Patrick need to check me? Why does my abdomen feel like it has an incision? What happened Nikolas?"

She sounds so frantic and he knows all this immediate stress cannot be good for her. Elizabeth walks in the room, rolling her eyes at Britt because she's freaking out. Nikolas sends a slight glare her way.

"Britt, calm down, you're okay. Elizabeth, you need page Patrick so he can check on her."

The door to Britt's hospital room opens and Patrick steps in. He smiles at Britt, so thankful to see her awake, even though she looks upset. He walks over to her and gently takes her hand in an attempt to calm her. Nikolas stands at the foot of her bed with the baby in his arms, watching the exchange, while Elizabeth stands beside him.

"It's good to see you awake. I just need to check your general responses, you know silly doctor stuff."

Patrick's voice is soft and soothing to everyone in the room, but especially to Britt. He smiles at her and she remembers why she once loved him, enough to have a child with him. He checks her out and continues to speak to her a she asks questions.

"How long was I out for?"

"Around three days. We were worried, Kelly didn't know why you were out for so long, but you're back now and that's what counts."

She lets out a heavy sigh, she missed the first three days of her son's life. She knows he won't remember it, but she'll never be able to forget. Patrick turns off his light and puts it back in his coat pocket. Britt looks across her bed and sees Nikolas holding her baby and immediately all she wants to do is hold him.

"Is he okay? Can I hold him? Please."

She's practically begging. Patrick takes the baby from Nikolas and brings him to Britt. Her arms are practically aching to hold him and finally Patrick sets him down. She looks at him, _really_ looks at him. She kisses his head and his cheeks; counts his fingers and toes; breathes in his scent. She's missed three days of his life and she can't miss any more.

"Patrick, I know we didn't work, but he…"

Patrick sits on her bed and puts his hand gently on her leg. He's so grateful that he can experience this again. No, he doesn't love Britt like he loved Robin or the way he loves Sabrina, but he loves her because she gave him another child.

"He's perfect, Britt."

"He just needs a name."

Nikolas makes himself known and sits himself back in his chair. He smiles at her, but she's not looking- her eyes are set on the baby only. However, she does hear him and she knows he's right, but she also knows what he son's name is. She's known for weeks.

"Ben, his name is Ben."

Her voice leaves little room for debate and Patrick decides that the name is perfect. No one will make fun of a kid named Ben, it's normal. He realizes he needs to go tell Emma that her baby brother has a name, but he doesn't want to leave his boy or his son's mother.

"That's a good name. You hear that son, your mommy woke and she gave you a name."

She looks at Patrick.

"It's okay with you? I mean I just, he's just always been Ben to me."

He nods and then looks over at Nikolas, who is still watching Britt and Ben together.

"It's perfect, although I'm surprised you didn't name him after the prince over here. He hasn't left your side this entire time."

She looks over at Nikolas, incredulously.

"What about Spencer?"

"He's with my grandmother, Leslie. He's called everyday, wanting to see you, he misses you."

"I'd like to see him, once I get out of here, which is when, exactly?"

She looks over at Patrick, even though she's sure that Kelly is technically in charge of her release. It made her wonder why Kelly wasn't here, if it were her patient, she would want to be paged immediately.

"I'm not sure, Kelly and I will have to discuss. As far as your brain goes, you seem to be healthy, but when you do get to leave someone is going to have to take care of you. You had some major surgery, Britt; you were lucky Kelly didn't have to perform a hysterectomy. Do you want to come home with me?"

"I can't, Patrick, I'll get an apartment, I can take care of myself and Ben."

"Look, we'll talk about this later. I should get back to work. I'm really glad you're awake."

"Yeah, me too."

He pats her leg and kisses Ben's head, then leaves with Elizabeth to get back to work. Finally it's just Nikolas, Britt, and Ben alone in the room. The silence is light, Ben is asleep and Britt is just watching him.

"Britt?"

"Hmmm?"

"I figured you and the baby- Ben, sorry, would just come home with me."

"Nikolas, I can't impose on you any more than I already have. It's not a very good friendship if I'm the only one taking things and not giving. I may not have friends except for you and Brad, but I know friendship is about give and take and all I'm doing is taking."

He shakes his head.

"Do you understand that my son adores you and Ben, even though he hasn't even met him yet? If you left to live somewhere else, my son would probably ask to come with you, even if it meant leaving his overly privileged lifestyle."

She grins at him.

"Fine, I'll come, but it's for Spencer not because you asked, okay, friend?"

Nikolas returns the smile.

"Okay, whatever you say or maybe you'd miss Alfred just as much as Spencer would."

"Well, that may be true. Nikolas, why did you stay here for three days?"

"I was scared. Kelly and Patrick didn't know what was happening and neither did a specialist I flew in. I spent the past three days going back and forth between here and the nursery and fighting the people who kept telling Patrick just to name him. People raised Spencer the first few months of his life, I didn't even know he was mine. They gave him a different name, had him christened, the whole nine yards- I wasn't going to let that happen to you. I wasn't going to let anyone take your son from you."

He grabs her hand; it's instinct at this point, since he's been holding her hand for the past three days. She doesn't even react to it, it actually feels kind of normal to her at this point. She's grateful for him, because without him Ben would be at Patrick's house with a different name, instead of here in her arms where she knows he's safe.

"But why?"

"Because you asked me to, Britt, you asked me to stay with him and keep him safe. I promised you and I wasn't going back on my promise."

She smiles. He really is a good guy. No one else in her life had ever done something for her specifically because she had asked. No one ever really did anything for her, she had always done her own thing and taken care of herself, but she felt like that was going to change. With her son nuzzled in her arms and a man by her side that was willing to take care of her while receiving nothing in return, she finally felt like her life was going the right way.

But in the back of her mind she was wondering what was going to go wrong next.


End file.
